We learn about Hanuch in this week's Portion. He was considered great because he made his labor for man a holy act.

One of the first commandments given to man was to name the animals. This is to underscore that the world is meant for man to make it holy through his use of it.

Simhat Torah is the recognition that the Torah is the property of all Jew, no matter how rich or poor, high and low, educated or not.

Sukkot is the holiday for all people. One can build a sukka that covers the entire world. This show that it is for all.

The lesson of Sukkot is that every person has value, no matter how high or low that person may be. We all equal in God's eye.

It is fitting that Sukkot is in Tishri since it represents the universality of the Jewish people, unlike Pesach which represents our nationhood.

The Torah admonishes us to oppose foreign ideologies, meaning ideologies that negate morality based on the Torah. 

This week's portion deals with the problem of success.  Many of us achieve success and forget that God had a hand in it.  This is a clear warning not to.

We usually think that our judgement is sealed on Yom Kippur.  The truth is that the final judgement is on Simhat Torah.  The reason is that on Yom Kippur we are on our best behavior but on Simhat Torah we are drinking and eating and carrying on.  How do we behave then?

The key to the Yom Kippur service is that we read the Book of Jonah at Minha on that day.  Jonah is called upon to announce to the Assyrians that they have to repent.  When recounting the story, the Book of Jonah does not talk about their prayers but about their actions.